PM 'would not support' Faslane idea

Prime Minister David Cameron would not support proposals to designate the Clydeside home of the Trident nuclear deterrent as sovereign United Kingdom territory if Scotland votes for independence, Downing Street said.

PUBLISHED: 23:59, Wed, Jul 10, 2013

Britain's nuclear deterrent is housed at Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde, western Scotland [PA]

A Number 10 spokesman said that no such idea had been presented to Mr Cameron or to Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, adding that it would not be a "credible or sensible" course of action.

The Guardian quoted an unnamed defence source as saying that the idea of a sovereign base would be "an option" to avoid the "eye-watering" cost of decommissioning the Faslane naval base on the Clyde, which would run into tens of billions of pounds.

But the Number 10 spokesman said: "This Government has not commissioned contingency plans over Faslane. No such ideas have come to the Secretary of State or the Prime Minister.

"They would not support them if they did. It's not a credible or sensible idea."

The Scottish National Party government in Edinburgh has made clear it would want Trident removed from Scottish territory as soon as possible if next year's referendum delivers a Yes vote for independence.

The defence source suggested that designating Faslane as sovereign UK territory would give it the same status as British sovereign military bases in Cyprus.

The source told the Guardian: "It would cost a huge amount of money, running into tens of billions of pounds, to decommission Faslane.

"Those costs would be factored into any negotiations on an independence settlement. The sovereign base area is an option. It is an interesting idea because the costs of moving out of Faslane are eye-wateringly high."

An MoD spokesman said: "No contingency plans are being made to move Trident out of Scotland. The scale and cost of any potential relocation away from Faslane would be enormous."